Kinetic.

This past Thursday I waddled back up to NYC to go to the opening reception for "GO FIGURE" at J. Cacciola Gallery in Chelsea, featuring figurative work by Alex Kanevsky, Sophie Jodoin, Jeffrey Beauchamp, and Margaret Evangeline. It's the first time I’ve been able to see any of Sophie Jodoin's work live and in-person, so this was a true thrill for me. Also, Alex was kind enough to introduce me to her: this was truly like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one. YAY. Her work was reeeeeally cool, these particular pieces were in oil on mylar – here's a shot of my favorite:

Naturally Alex also had some stunning pieces, as usual – for example, the following:

Man, I love having New York so close by. But for now, back to Philly and its own brand of creative awesomeness! Yesterday I spent several hours tandem bicycling around Kensington/Fishtown with a giant peach on my head. John and I ended up joining up with a group in the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, dressing up in costumes and riding bicycles as part of the team representin’ Emerald Street Urban Farm. The "farm fanatic" group was dressed in various farm-related garb, with many of us taking the role of various fruits and vegetables. As we rode along the parade route, with me in my giant peach head, I kept hearing people yell out, "It's a tomato!!!" One kid yelled out, "LOOK, IT'S A PUMPKIN!!!" I thought, sadly, I am SO misunderstood here. Clearly Fishtown folk need to become better acquainted with their fruits and veggies. Anyway, observe said giant peach head below, on fellow participant Nate Dixon. He definitely amps up the psychotic peach factor by wielding a giant cardboard knife. (In retrospect, I wish I had carried that with me throughout the parade. Drat):

John had this great bike with flames on the seat and in the tires, and a peacock mask. Every farm needs a flaming peacock, right? YES.

By now there are probably a number of videos and photos posted out in the interwebs, so take a peek around... here's one with some snippets (I can be seen at about 1:20, look for the giant peach head):

Here's Kennedy (the front half of my tandem bike team), who's ready to eat some giant veggies... aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr

Anyway, good times. Eat your veggies. Shop at your local urban farm. Now I need some time to work on some of my own art projects...

Side note: where did this place come from? Looks cool, but it seems to have kind of sprung up out of nowhere. I love surprises! Thanks, Fishtown.